Having just watched the video of Tom Jones singing "Tower Of Song" my frustration at not understanding one word has returned.

Can anyone shed light on the meaning of "channels" in the line "The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor"?
Not knowing does not diminish my enjoyment of the song, but knowing may increase it.

I always assumed that it had something to do with television: you know, TV channels, and most TV networks are owned by rich people, and the networks control what people can watch on TV, and a lot of people watch TV in bed! But, I may be wrong...

Ah, you mean "getting lost in that hopeless little screen" - I wondered about that, but I also wondered about
the spiritual/esoteric/intellectual/philosophical perspective and had never seen any comment about it.

MaryB wrote:I agree with Lisa 100%. But then, someone comes along and offers a spiritual/esoteric/intellectual/philosophical perspective and it gives me new insights into the meaning of a word/phrase.

In this case, I stand by Lisa's interpretation until someone can convince me otherwise.

Mary B I won't try to convice you otherwise. I hear it as a metaphor.
-The rich have got their channels in
the bedrooms of the poor-
The word ‘channels’ to me just means ‘Any, or all ways and means’ the rich (might) use to seduce and exploit the poor to make money and keep them down. They reach them in the place where they are most vulnerable, ‘the bedroom’, the one place where one needs to be/feel safe and secluded.
-And there's a mighty judgement coming, but I may be wrong-
Even though the judgement may have come in the form of the recession, it is the poor that suffer most. –Now you can say that I’ve grown bitter-
MaryB Not a very esotheric I’m afraid.

'Esoteric' enough for me. I see your interpretation, not as something different from what Lisa and I think it means, just an elaboration of our thought, from a slightly different angle, which makes it even more plausible - thank you for this.

Definition
A path through which goods and services flow in one direction (from vendor to the consumer), and the payments generated by them that flow in the opposite direction (from consumer to the vendor).
A distribution channel can be as short as being direct from the vendor to the consumer or may include several interconnected intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors, agents, retailers. Each intermediary receives the item at one pricing point and moves it to the next higher pricing point until it reaches the final buyer. Also called channel of distribution.

MaryB wrote: I see your interpretation, not as something different from what Lisa and I think it means, just an elaboration of our thought, from a slightly different angle, which makes it even more plausible...
Mary

Exactly what I was thinking, Mary! I really like Tineke's suggestion, and it does encompass what I was thinking: after I wrote my post, it occurred to me that I meant all those things, although perhaps a bit more literally. That is, the "tv" and its "channels" are the conduit through which the rich seduce/exploit the poor, with their advertisements, propoganda, etc. And, of course, this results in the "poor" following through in the ways suggested by holydove.

MaryB wrote:
It sure does Rachel. I think that basically, we were all going for the same end result. We were just going through different 'channels' to get there

Yes, Mary, we all seem to have the same basic idea in mind.

I also think, since Leonard chose the word "channel", maybe we should consider the multiple potential meanings, & a couple of things come to mind.

There is the phenomenon of "channeling", & in that context, a "channel" is someone through whom the voice of another entity can speak, & the entities (who usually exist in other dimensions) use the bodies of people with channeling capability, to deliver their messages to the world. The entities who speak through such channels could have positive or negative purposes. So maybe the implication is that the people delivering advertisements through the media (tv, radio, etc.) are serving as channels for the messages of the "rich", with the purpose of exploiting the "poor". Or the channels could be delivering the messages through various other means, which brings us to the next possible interpretation.

Impulses are said to be transmitted through the "channels" of the human nervous system; & yogic teachings say that there are thousands of channels (called "nadis") through which energy flows in our "subtle bodies" (which is like an "energy body" within our physical bodies). Thinking of it this way makes it an even more invasive image, as it could imply that the "rich" are transmitting messages directly into the most intimate corners (bedrooms) of people's minds, for the purpose of controlling their actions & their lives. They could be doing this, again, through various media, but they could also be doing it even more directly, and/or through other tools. (There are lots of theories relating to "mind control", which claim that very wealthy, powerful people have long been engaging in occult practices for the purpose of controlling the minds of the general population).

The end result is still very similar to what we have already mentioned; I just think "channel" is a really interesting choice of words, so I thought it was worth exploring the kaleidoscope of images it conjures up.

What a beautiful man! I admire him for what he is. I know him through his deep songs. A smart man, a brave teenager, a lovable kid... He is the hope of every man on this planet but few people knows it ...
xxLovexx